Govt cancels plan to raise Borobudur temple ticket prices

Good news for those who like to go to historical places. After causing a controversy, President Joko Widodo cancelled a plan to raise entrance ticket price to Borobudur temple. The decision was made in a limited meeting at the Jakarta Presidential Palace on Tuesday (14 June).

This was confirmed by Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono to Kompas.com. According to Basuki, the decision was made in accordance with the president's directives and applies to both local and foreign tourists. 

"In short, there is no increase in tariffs. It is still Rp50,000. Ticket price for students in high school and below is still Rp5,000," explained Basuki.

Even so, the government will still restrict the number of visitors to 1,200 people per day, and visitors are required to register online first. This is enforced to preserve the condition of the temple, which is more than 1,000 years old.

Quoted from the same page, the government originally planned to raise the fee for tourists who wish to climb up to the top of the temple stupa to Rp750,000 for local tourists and $100 for foreign tourists. Meanwhile, the entrance ticket price would remain unchanged.

Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan said that the reason for the price hike was because Borobudur temple, as a world heritage, is at risk of vulnerabilities and threats, ranging from weathering, climate change, mountain eruptions and earthquakes to bad tourist behaviour. 

He explained that visitors often vandalise the temple area, slip objects between the temple stones and litter. "All of these need special handling," he said.

The government has also implemented a new visiting rule, i.e. every tourist who wants to climb up to the temple stupa area is required to wear "Upanat Borobudur" or special sandals designed to minimise wear and tear on the stone stairs.

Citing the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and technology website, the word "upanat" is the actualisation of the Karmawibhangga Relief on panel 150 on Borobudur temple which means footwear. These sandals were made by the Borobudur Conservation Centre Conservation Review team from woven pandan leaves and have been tested for durability and benefits. The friction test found that the type of sponge material with a lower hardness level than the rock sponge type has a low wear impact.

In addition to testing the Upanat sandal, the Borobudur Conservation Centre Conservation Review team also tested "Travel Pattern", namely the routes to Borobudur temple and the tourism potential around the area.

In addition to preserving the temple, "Travel Pattern" was also developed to make visits to Borobudur temple more focused and thematic, such as telling the stories about maritime life or stories of flora from the temple reliefs.